On Tuesday morning, in a disgusting display of cruelty and thoughtlessness, two kittens not yet old enough to be away from their mother were discovered in a courier box by staff at a distribution centre. The box had been collected from a household in Melbourne’s western suburbs the day previous and the kittens had been in the box without food, water or padding to protect them for well over 24 hours.
After making the shocking discovery, staff contacted the City of Melbourne who immediately called upon The Lost Cats’ Home to collect and care for the kittens. Cattery Manager Karina Bailey said she was outraged when she heard about the incident.
“Any number of things could have happened to those kittens while they were in transit,” Karina said. “The box could have been squashed, it could have been dropped or roughly handled, and at such a young age, these kittens are already extremely vulnerable.”
Luckily the young male and female appeared to be unharmed, although they were underweight for what they should be at four-weeks-old. Veterinarians at the Home assessed the pair upon arrival and they have been carefully monitored this week to ensure their health doesn’t deteriorate.
“They should never have been taken away from their mum at this age,” Karina said. “Cats weaned off their mother’s milk too early can often have weak immune systems later on, so we wanted to make sure these kittens are getting lots of nutrition to make up for that.”
With the kittens still too young to be out up for adoption, Karina is appealing for members of the public to act as foster carers for the pair over the next four weeks.
“We want them to be strong and healthy by the time we put them up for adoption, so we need someone who will be able to provide them with the best quality care,” Karina said. “They are eating well and don’t appear to have any medical problems. Fattening them up and making sure they become lovely, socialised cats is the main thing!”
Anyone who believes they can provide a loving, temporary home to the two kittens – or to any of our sick, injured or underage cats and dogs – are encouraged to contact Foster Care Coordinator Amanda Huggins on 9329 2755 or download the foster care application form on www.dogshome.com.
“They are adorable kittens, very sweet and cuddly, which is surprising at their age,” Karina said. “It makes me sick that someone could do something so abhorrent to two innocent kittens. But hopefully we can give them a fresh start to life and they will grow up to become healthy, loving cats.”
An investigation into the incident is currently taking place.
Read more about this story in the Herald Sun (Reporter: Aleks Devic)
